


Heart of Primus

by becklame



Series: Too Much Seaspray [2]
Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers Generation One
Genre: Inspired by Moana (2016), Moana AU, Other, like it's basically the plot of moana with tf characters, this pretty much just spiraled out of an in-joke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2018-12-31 11:53:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12131922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becklame/pseuds/becklame
Summary: The Ark has crashed on an island in the middle of the Pacific. Few of the Autobots have the skills to leave, but must send one of their own to return the Allspark, the very spark of Primus himself, to its rightful owner when the results of Primus' loss begin to threaten their existence...





	1. Prologue: Innocent Warriors

**Author's Note:**

> I fell in love with Moana when it came out and wanted to draw Cliffjumper as Maui as a joke (since Dwayne Johnson voiced both Maui and tfp Cliffjumper). Then I realized I needed somebody to be the Moana to his Maui and one of my friends suggested Seaspray.
> 
> I love both Moana and G1 so much that this AU practically writes itself.

“Of course you all know,” Optimus Prime began to tell the latest group of Autobots to arrive on Earth, “That our world did not exist until Primus shed his physical form and used it to create new life. And I’m sure that you are also aware that he was able to create this life with the power of the Allspark.”

“So if we know it already, what’s the big idea repeatin’ it?” butted in Powerglide.

“Because the Allspark has been stolen, Powerglide,” answered Optimus. “Before Cliffjumper left our island, he told me personally that Megatron had opened a space bridge and stolen the Allspark from Primus himself.”

Another question sprang up for Optimus, this time from Warpath:

“Then why didn’t you -BAM!- go right -POW!- after Megatron?”

“Cliffjumper insisted on doing the job himself. I asked that Ironhide would go with him, but, well…something’s gotten into the both of them. As far as any of us know, Megatron still has the Allspark, and Cliffjumper never came back.”

“It had to be Megatron got him!” Powerglide decided. “You could always send me after him, Prime! I can fly right off this island!”

Optimus shook his head. “No, not this time. Cliffjumper sent us one last transmission before he went missing.”

Cosmos piped up. “What did he say?”

“He said that without the watchful eye of Primus, Unicron has come to Earth to steal the Allspark for his own nefarious purposes.”

A gasp could be heard throughout the Ark.

“Powerglide is right!” Cosmos said frantically. “We must send Autobots out immediately! Cliffjumper could have been offlined already!”

Optimus placed a hand on the smaller bot’s shoulder. “Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait. We can’t go anywhere until the Ark is mobile again.”

“Optimus!” Powerglide shouted.

“Powerglide, I said no,” Optimus told him sternly.

“It’s not about that,” Powerglide said more calmly. “Have you seen Seaspray around?”

——————————————————

Seaspray couldn’t understand why the rest of the Autobots were so afraid to leave the island they’d crashed on. They had an entirely new planet to explore! Surely they couldn’t have seen everything there was to be seen on it.

The minibot stood at the edge of the island, where the land met the sea, watching the ocean waves roll in and out. He’d heard that the humans had many stories about the ocean, about what a powerful and destructive force it was, but not one of his circuits felt an inch of fear standing so close to it.

If only Optimus, or even at least Ironhide, would let him transform and traverse it, but no. The Autobots has to obey their leaders. Leaders always want what’s best for their people, and Optimus Prime was no exception.

Well, what Prime didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, would it?

Treading as carefully as a bot his size could, Seaspray walked out into the water- not too deep, hardly past his legs, but enough for him to feel it on his chassis. It didn’t feel like anything that could harm a Cybertronian- it wasn’t corrosive or anything like that- if anything, it felt welcoming.

That welcoming feeling didn’t last long enough. Seaspray could hear the footsteps of a larger Cybertronian behind him, along with the familiar voice of Ironhide:

“Seaspray, what are you doing out there? Prime’s been lookin’ all over for ya!”

At the sound of Ironhide’s scolding, Seaspray backed out, but not before he caught a glimpse of something floating in the water.

The object was spherical in shape, at least the size of his head, and gave off the brightest bluish-white light ever to pierce his optics.

Whatever it was, the ocean decided to give it to him, and Seaspray had to accept it. It had to be something important.

Ironhide’s calls became more harsh.

“Seaspray! Get out of there!”

Seaspray scooped up the orb in his arms to the best of his ability and ran back to the shore towards a wide-eyed Ironhide. With Seaspray now in front of him, all the larger bot could do was stare at the thing in his arms.

“Seaspray…”

This wasn’t like Ironhide. He was supposed to be in control, always knowing what to say when it needed to be said.

Though Seaspray had always been a little ashamed of how he sounded when he talked, he knew he needed to say something.

“Ironhide…what is this thing?”


	2. You Must Find Happiness Right Where You Are

Years passed since Seaspray had found the orb. Ironhide had refused to explain what it was to him, and ordered that it remain on the Ark where Optimus could protect it. Any further attempts Seaspray made to ask about it would lead to nowhere.

“It’s not important for you to know,” Ironhide would say. “Besides, me and Perceptor think you’d be a little too reckless to handle it.”

And that would be the end of the conversation.

“Reckless” as they may have seen him, there was no doubt that since his arrival on Earth, Seaspray proved himself to be a valuable asset to the Autobot cause. Of course, it helped that he was actually interested in the planet. As long as Ironhide had a say in anything, he only had one island to explore, but Teletraan-1 was slowly collecting more data from Earth’s networks, and Seaspray would burn as much of it into his hard drive as he could.

But downloading information was not the same as firsthand experience, and there was only so much a Cybertronian could do on an island more suited for humans. They could always go back to space, if Wheeljack was able to set up a space bridge, or Seaspray could ask Cosmos to take him back to Cybertron. He was small enough to be carried by his fellow minibot.

No, that was a terrible idea. Earth was much bigger than just one small island, and Seaspray was going to see it all.

Provided it didn’t get destroyed first.

For all the time the Autobots had spent on the island, Seaspray was surprised that the Decepticons hadn’t found them already. Not that the matter was anything to complain about, of course- that just meant he had more time to enjoy himself and the wonders of nature.

Time that may have been shorter than he first thought, if the dark shape he’d spotted in the sky on his latest stroll around the island really was heading toward him…

Fortunately for him, it was only Cosmos, though the bot had arrived to deliver him an urgent message.

“All Autobots report to the Ark immediately!” Cosmos announced as he zoomed over Seaspray’s head and continued to cover the perimeter of the island. “Optimus Prime’s orders!”

\------------------------------------------------

“Approximately one Earth hour ago, Brawn reported to Ratchet that he was feeling discomfort in his joints.” Optimus relayed to the group of Autobots before him. “Ratchet, show them what you had discovered upon examining him.”

Ratchet smiled at them in a way that seemed more sarcastic than reassuring. “I’m sure you all recognize this little beauty,” he said as he produced a test tube with a dark brown substance slowly eating at the glass.

Cosmic rust.

A wave of panic swept through the Ark. Cosmic rust was already difficult enough to treat on Cybertron. Earth was an entirely different planet, with different resources. In those conditions, there was no telling what their chance of survival would be.

“I understand as much as the rest of you that we are well equipped to handle the situation,” Ratchet continued as he tried to calm down the rest of the Autobots. “If anyone has any ideas that are better than running around and screaming, I would greatly appreciate it.”

All of the other Autobots remained silent. Few of them were prepared to combat such a deadly disease.

Seaspray raised a hand.

“Teletraan-1 said that humans are becoming increasingly experienced in mechanics,” he suggested. “If even just one of us could leave the island and try to contact them, we might have a better chance-”

"No.”

A firm voice interrupted him from the back of the crowd.

Everyone turned around to see Ironhide with an incredibly sour look on his face as he crossed his arms defensively.

“Nobody is leaving this island,” he said with more of an edge in his voice.

Seaspray had spent too much of his time on Earth having his ideas disregarded by Ironhide. Every single Autobot’s fate was at stake. Ironhide may have been Optimus’ second-in-command, but this was a matter of life or death. He wasn’t going to let his superior shut him down this time.

“Maybe you’re not,” he tried to explain, “but if I can get a lay of the...er, sea, we might be able to-”

Ironhide interrupted him again.  
“Go out there and die? I’m not risking losing any more Autobots to Decepticons. You’re a good mech, Seaspray, and your body is one I don’t wanna have to bury.”

‘Any _more?_ ’ Seaspray didn’t know what Ironhide was talking about. Nobody had died yet as far as he knew, and if he could help it, that was how it was supposed to stay.

“If we don’t leave or find a cure fast enough, you’re going to have to bury even more bodies!” he argued.

Ironhide could not take any more of the smaller bot’s pleading. 

“Get out of my sight, Seaspray.” He pushed through the crowd, making sure that his eyes would not fall on Seaspray, until he was face-to-face with Ratchet. “If we’re going to fight cosmic rust, you’d better listen to me, doc.”

\---------------- [?]

Seaspray had retreated to the shoreline of the island, where he felt the most comfortable. Everyone was so afraid to leave, to venture out into the sea, but not him.

Maybe they were afraid of him, too. 

Seaspray’s musings were cut short by the sound of another Autobot making his presence known.

“I figured I’d find you here,” Perceptor said, sitting down beside him.

Seaspray acknowledged the other bot with a small nod of his head. “Are you here to tell me off, too?”

“No,” Perceptor assured him. “It’s not the end of the world. If Wheeljack can get the space bridge repaired in time, I can go to Cybertron and gather the materials to synthesize a cure.”

“I still think my idea’s a lot faster.”

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Perceptor told him. “But Ironhide...well, you know how Ironhide is.”

Seaspray couldn’t believe that Ironhide could still be that stubborn when their lives were at stake. Something had to have happened to him to make him like that. 

“Did someone die before I came here?” he asked. “Another Autobot?”

That was a question Perceptor didn’t want to answer, but if he didn’t tell Seaspray the truth, who would?

“Well...yes. His name was Blurr.”

_Blurr._ Seaspray was certain he’d heard the name around Cybertron. Unfortunately, he couldn’t match it to a face.

He locked optics with Perceptor. He needed to know what Ironhide hadn’t been telling him, and Perceptor was the only bot he knew would listen to him.

“Tell me what happened to him,” Seaspray said.

Perceptor hesitated for a while before complying.

“It’s only fair that you know,” he finally said. “Blurr was one of the fastest and most ambitious Autobots to land on Earth with the rest of us. Much like you, he had a desire to leave the island and explore the planet, but he wasn’t alone. He had made a plan to leave with one of Optimus Prime’s most trusted soldiers.”

“Is this about who I think it’s about?”

Perceptor managed a small smile. “Yes, Ironhide was just like you once. He may seem like he’s got a scratch on his computer chip, but he wants to leave almost as much as you do.”

“And he doesn’t even try anymore...” Seaspray looked out towards the ocean once more. “Whatever happened to Blurr must have really rattled his spark.”

Perceptor nodded slowly. “Of course, it was Decepticons that got him. Everything always seems to be their fault, doesn’t it? As soon as they saw the pair leaving the island, they decided that two isolated Autobots would be easier targets. Ironhide had said Blurr was able to find another, smaller island, and that was where the Decepticons made their move.”

An ounce of disbelief found its way across Seaspray’s processor. “You said Blurr was the fastest Autobot on Earth.”

“I did, but I didn’t say he was the strongest. Ironhide was stronger. He was able to fight off their attackers, but he wasn’t fast enough to save Blurr.”

Seaspray pondered the scenario. Ironhide was so abrasive. As far as he knew, nothing could phase the bot. “They must have been pretty close.”

“Closer than any other Cybertronians I’ve known.”

Seaspray looked back to Perceptor. “We can’t just stand around here and wait until we die. I need to do something.”

Now it was Perceptor’s turn to be a buzzkill. “I understand that we need to act now if we have any chance of surviving, but I think Ironhide’s right in stopping you. You’re not too strong yourself. You need to understand your limits.”

Perceptor stood up and began to walk back to the Ark.

“I know you don’t think I can do much, either,” Seaspray tried to tell him. “I’m not as weak as you think I am!”

Perceptor didn’t look back at him even once- he was just like Ironhide after all, wasn’t he?- but Seaspray could make out something he said softly:

“Don’t die for us if you don’t have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, a chapter that parallels the "Where You Are" and "He Was You" scenes and no mention of coconuts whatsoever? Yeah, sorry.
> 
> Double apologies to any Blurr fans. I don't particularly care for at least half of Blurr's depictions, and somebody had to die if Ironhide more or less fills the role of Chief Tui in this AU, so I figured it might as well be him.


	3. I Come Back to the Water No Matter how Hard I Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kept you waiting long enough, huh? I'll try to get more chapters out over the next couple of months now that I'm currently not bogged down by schoolwork.
> 
> Apologies to all the Decepticon sympathizers out there. The 'cons start showing up here and there as of this chapter, but for the sake of this AU they're not really portrayed with nuance or as more than obstacles.

Alone at the edge of the island, Seaspray watched the tide pull back from the shore as Perceptor’s words pierced his spark.

First Ironhide, now Perceptor. Was there anyone who actually cared to listen to what he had to say? Why did everything always far apart whenever he brought up going out to sea?

He never was as wary of the water as the other Autobots. He felt as if it were somehow calling to him. As if that was where he was always meant to be.

Every Autobot had a place on Cybertron, a place among Optimus Prime’s ranks, a set of skills they brought to the team effort.

Seaspray was only just starting to figure out where his place was, and few other bots seemed to be as happy about that as he was.

Sure, Wheeljack could set up a space bridge and head back to Cybertron to find a treatment for the cosmic rust, but space bridges were not easy to build. Choosing to stay in the same position on Earth was sentencing them all to death.

But yeah, _he,_ Seaspray, the minibot, was the crazy one for suggesting that.

He would be if he kept dwelling on the matter, he thought, turning his back on the ocean. Ironhide knew what was best- after all, he was who Optimus had placed in charge. Seaspray was just an uncoordinated little minibot who needed to be guided by someone big and strong like Ironhide. He was going to go right back to the Ark and agree to whatever Ironhide had planned and thank him for showing him the error of his ways.

But that wasn’t like him. Whether the other Autobots liked it or not, Seaspray knew that the sea was where he belonged.

It couldn’t hurt him any more than the cosmic rust, right?

He turned back around and ran out to the water and with a jump, transformed into his alt mode. He switched on his propellers the moment he hit the water and headed out to sea.

This was how it was always supposed to be, he thought. Out on the open water, the ocean waves lapping at his sides, no one to tell him what he could or couldn’t do.

And then he realized he had no idea where he was going.

It didn’t matter. There was much more to Earth than just one island. The Autobots wouldn’t have to be trapped and decimated by cosmic rust if he could help it.

Though the ocean may have had other ideas. Before he knew it, a sizeable wave was looming over him. As it crashed against his hull, Seaspray found himself very quickly flipped onto his side and nearly back to the shoreline.

So maybe this wasn’t going to go as smoothly as he thought. No problem. He could handle a little water. He was going to prove himself a worthy Autobot while everyone else was moping around on the island, and no force of nature was going to stop him.

On the other hand…  
Not too long after Seaspray had recovered from the wave, not long after he had covered the distance for the second time, had he spotted two unmistakable, ominous shapes in the sky.

Decepticons.

No doubt he was in their plain sight.

“Would ya look at that, Thundercracker,” he could hear one of them say, voice dripping with malice. “A poor little Autobot all by his lonesome.”

“He’s not worth the trouble, Skywarp,” Thundercracker replied. “He doesn’t look armed.”

Skywarp gave Thundercracker a slight nudge. “All Autobots are trouble according to Megatron.” He drew his blaster and flew in closer to his newfound target. “And we don’t want him to alert, say, Optimus Prime of our presence, do we?”

Thundercracker readied his weapon as well, albeit with more hesitation.

“No,” he said, apparently resigned to whatever Skywarp had planned. “I guess we don’t.”

Skywarp began firing in a mad frenzy, but thankfully for Seaspray didn’t seem to take much care into making sure he’d hit his target. Nonetheless, the Autobot pulled back and readied his own cannons, returning the attack and forcing Skywarp to do some fancy flying to avoid being struck.

For a moment, Seaspray thought as if he had gotten the upper hand.

A moment which ended when a stray projectile connected with where his shoulder would have been in his root mode.

“Nice shot, Thundercracker!” Skywarp complimented his fellow Decepticon, who had opted to attack from behind.”

While not as trigger-happy as Skywarp, Thundercracker’s shot was more calculated. Seaspray had never been hit by a Decepticon with such intensity before, but then again, he didn’t have much experience with Decepticons.

If they kept this up, he could suffer far worse.

Thinking quickly, he rolled onto where he had been hit and disappeared under the water.

The two Decepticons flew right above where Seaspray had dove, weapons aimed, staring intensely. Waiting to see if he was trying a sneak attack. 

Seaspray knew better than to further aggravate them. He remained still, giving them only a bit of sputtering and bubbling from his engine.

Then, nothing.

Skywarp laughed devilishly. “Not so strong after all, are you?” he taunted.

“Shouldn’t we bring him with us so Megatron has proof he finally got one of them?” Thundercracker asked.

“Nah, he isn’t worth it,” Skywarp answered. “He’s just a scout. We don’t even know his name. All he can be is another warning to the Autobots.”

Convinced that Seaspray was as good as dead, the two of them altered their flight course away from the island.

Certain that the Decepticons had left for good, Seaspray transformed back into his root mode to examine his wounds. Thankfully, he wasn’t leaking any energon, but some of his plating had been shattered. He tried to move the affected shoulder and grunted as he was met with a stinging pain. Guess he wouldn’t be using that part of him for a while, then.  
He turned on his propellers and floated underwater for a while, retracing his trail until the water was too shallow for him to be completely submerged anymore. As he broke the surface, he could see Optimus Prime himself standing by the shoreline, not looking disappointed in him so much as bemused.

Hoping that Optimus hadn’t taken notice of it yet, he placed a hand over his wound.

“You’re going to tell Ironhide, aren’t you?” he said rather defeatedly.

Optimus shook his head. “Ironhide’s only _second_ in command.”

Seaspray narrowed his optics. “Fine, then maybe I’ll tell him myself. My idea to help us was too dangerous after all.”

Optimus gave a small shrug. “If that’s what you’re saying, now.”

“It is. I’m going back to the Ark, and I’m going to do whatever Ironhide wants me to.”

Seaspray trudged past Optimus and started to make his way back to the Ark, but the Prime had something to say before he let Seaspray out of his sight.

“You know that Cybertronians never truly die. When our bodies can no longer contain our sparks, we return to the Well of Allsparks to be born again.”

Seaspray turned around slowly.

“I know. Why are you reminding me?”

“What I’m saying is that the more we change and become rebuilt, the more the past becomes a part of us.”

Seaspray still wasn’t sure why Optimus was telling him about the Well of Allsparks.

“So how, again, does this relate to you watching me fail to conquer the open ocean?” he asked.

“Seaspray, it relates to everything you’ve done and will continue to do.”

Seaspray looked back out to the water. Leaving the island was risky, but despite his run-in with the Decepticons, it was the most comfortable he had been in all of his time on Earth.

Then he looked behind him, to where the Ark had crashed. The ship had never moved since it landed, and the Autobots had made few attempts to fix it. It was their headquarters and everything they stood for, but it could no longer help them.

Finally, he returned to meet his Prime’s optics. Optimus had believed in him when no one else had. He always listened to him and always knew what to say. He saw his true potential.

If Cybertron’s history was truly coursing through Seaspray’s spark, he needed Optimus to tell him just how much, and how important it made him to the Autobot cause.

“Give me proof.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Optimus led Seaspray back to the Ark, which had since been abandoned by the other Autobots. 

“The amount of Teletraan-1’s database you have been able to access is only a small fraction of its memory,” Optimus stated, typing furiously at the controls of the Ark’s supercomputer. “I think you’re ready to see what else it has to offer.”

He left the computer and began to exit the ship, but not before giving one last instruction.

“The password is ‘Beta Alpha Sigma.’”

Now alone except for the computer, and still somewhat confused, Seaspray knew he could still trust Optimus. He carefully input the letters as instructed:

Beta.

Alpha.

Sigma.

“Now accessing file Beta Alpha Sigma,” Teletraan-1 monotoned.

Before Seaspray could even blink his optics, his surroundings changed drastically from the empty room.

Suddenly, he was back on Cybertron, only it didn’t look or feel like the Cybertron he knew. This must have been a simulation of the planet before he was sparked.

He could see a large army of Autobots- at least, he assumed they were Autobots. He couldn’t recognize any of their faces, but they all wore the red insignia. Their weapons were primitive- bits of scrap metal, mostly, but they showed no remorse against their opponents- large drones, larger than any Cybertronian he had heard of.

Well, almost any Cybertronian. Something about the drones reminded him an awful lot of Omega Supreme. Could they be Cybertron’s ancient guardians?

Seaspray’s musing and sightseeing were quickly interrupted by an unfamiliar voice calling out to him.

“Hey! Don’t just stand there! There’s a war going on!” 

He turned in the direction of the voice and was met with an Autobot who looked strangely familiar to him, though he had never seen him before.

As soon as he was sure Seaspray and seen him, the other bot quickly handed him a blaster. 

“Come on!” he barked. “The Quintessons will stop at nothing to keep us under their control!”

Quintessons? Then that Autobot leading the rebellion would have to be-

“Alpha Trion?” Seaspray guessed.

The Autobot nodded. “Yes, that is the name I have come to be known by. This is my past as much as it is yours. Our fight for independence from the Quintessons was the framework of the Autobot cause.”

“I already know what happened,” Seaspray told him matter-of-factly. “Why did Prime send me?”

Alpha Trion fired his blaster at an oncoming guardian before answering the question.

“This was our beginning, and it is our legacy. It has always been the Autobot way. We are innovators. We are rebels. We see injustice in the world and we choose to fight it. We meet a problem that cannot be conquered and we invent a new solution. This is what it means to be an Autobot. This is who we are.

This is who you are.”

The scene ended almost as soon as it had begun, and Seaspray was once again back in the Ark, alone with nothing but his thoughts.

And a lot of questions for Optimus.

Feeling that Alpha Trion’s pep talk had stirred something in him, he confidently walked out of the Ark to find Optimus, who was conveniently standing just outside.

“Why are those files encypted?” he questioned demandingly.

“So they can’t be deleted,” Optimus answered. “So we don’t lose sight of who we are.”

“I think we already have.”

Seaspray sat down, arms crossed, his back turned on Optimus.

Optimus sighed.

“Megatron was the one who started it,” he said. “The moment he snatched the Allspark from Primus, Unicron had awakened. The Decepticons used his power to leave a trail of destruction and fear, and that fear has consumed many Autobots. As long as Unicron has more power than Primus, we will only tear ourselves apart.”

Seaspray slowly turned back around.

“I’m not afraid,” he said defensively. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

“I know you aren’t. That’s why I’m giving this to you.”

Optimus opened up his chest plate and produced a familiar glowing orb. Only now did Seaspray know what it was.

“I thought Megatron still had the Allspark,” Seaspray said, optics transfixed on the object.

“Sometimes the things we lose come back to us in ways we don’t always expect,” Optimus explained.

“But the Allspark isn’t ours. It doesn’t belong to anyone but Primus.”

“You are correct, Seaspray, but sometimes the Allspark chooses a carrier, a Cybertronian to protect it. I was that carrier once. Now it seems to have chosen you.”

Seaspray carefully took the Allspark from Optimus. He stared it his servos for a while longer, taken in by its borderline hypnotic light, then looked back to Optimus.

“How can I protect it if we can’t even protect ourselves?”

Optimus looked up in thought to the now-starry sky.

“You must find Cliffjumper. He’s still out there, and only he knows where Megatron has taken Primus.”

Seaspray wasn’t too confident that he could help a warrior such as Cliffjumper stop the leader of the Decepticons, but he was willing to try. 

“How do I know where he is?”

Optimus gave Seaspray an encouraging pat on his good shoulder.

“Who else has tried to leave the island?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually have any important end notes here other than that while you're waiting for the next chapter to come out, I want you all to do what I did while writing this one and imagine Seaspray singing "How Far I'll Go" in that goofy underwater voice he always talks in.
> 
> What can I say except you're welcome.


End file.
